THE DAVE EMORY TOUR DIARY,
thus entitled: DOOMSDAY, CAR BOMB, CONTINUING
DAY 1:
Seeland auto "expert" Dick Goodbody has chosen two of his "best" vehicles from his massive automotive fleet for the Negativland tour, each a matching Ford Econoline 1-ton van, herein referred to as "van #1" and "van #2" to keep the record straight. Being as Mark Hosler is the fearless leader of the group, it was only appropriate that everyone should follow him in the vans to his parents' lush sub-tropical compound deep in the crevices of Orinda, California and be fed a gargantuan send-off meal of bacon (which even the vegetarians on the trip could not resist), eggs, orange juice, roasted potatoes, coffee, and toast. According to my notes, nothing else interesting happened on this day.
Oh, sorry, I omitted something here... it's been erased a few times and is a bit illegible... Ah, yes: one of the two cargo vans suffered its first breakdown on this day, and the caravan hadn't even made it out of California.
Just outside of Sacramento, in a terrifying suburb called Citrus Heights, a brake caliper on van #1 seizes up at high speed on the interstate, making the car shimmy uncontrollably and causing a putrid smell. All is practically lost in only the first 100 miles of driving (with just 10,400 to go); luckily, the crew stumbles upon a nice mechanic just after sundown, thanks to the frantic gestures of the employees of a local Kragen Auto Parts store who see the man walking past the shop window. His name is Craig, and, with obedient home-schooled son in tow, he proceeds to repair the brakes on BOTH vehicles (it seems as if van #2's brakes are worn down almost to the bolts). Skipping down...
Ecstatic at having overcome this first hurdle, the vans streak across the California/Nevada border at a high rate of speed. Unfortunately, this results in the all-too-familiar flashing lights and wailing sirens of Nevada's Finest. Pastor Dick is driving van #2... but unfortunately is bereft of a valid driver's license. This is the first time the rest of the group learns of Dick's illegal status. But, much to our relief, the arresting officer is enthralled at having pulled over a "famous band" on tour, and lets us all, including Dick, go free without so much as a citation or even stern warning. He goes so far as to stuff a wrinkled wad of several $100 bills into each of our hip pockets and even waves as we drive off. Tara later admits she found him charming and cute ("he looked as if he'd just washed his face", she coos).
| Intro | |||
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
| Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 |
| Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 |
| Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 |
